Windows Vista: Lipstick on a Pig

I wish I was making this up – I really do. I also wish that someone at Microsoft would wake up to the fact that the user experience in Windows Vista is 10x worse than it was in Windows XP (if only because they couldn’t get developers to adhere to XP guidelines, and now Vista apps look even more Frankenstined). I wish Microsoft would hire somebody to look at this stuff before it ships – and do something about the problems before the world has to deal with them.

I wish users didn’t have to put up with this level of sloppiness from a multi-billion dollar company. I wish I didn’t have to play the “bad guy” and point out that Classic Mode is still the only way to experience a clean, consistent Windows environment. I wish more people would look past Vista’s translucent veneer to see that it’s nothing more than lipstick on a pig. I wish people would see that I care more about this product than most Windows users do. I wish geeks cared more about UI… so that I wouldn’t feel like such a sore thumb here. Thanks to Brandon for posting this – and thanks to Ryan for pointing out that Windows 3.1 is still alive and well in Windows Vista (screenshot).

I think way too much is being devoted to how “things” look in Vista. Operating systems have become tools to access applications. Leave everything the same and give those that want “Green” doorknobs or pretty glass options to the option to change it the way they want. I get very frustrated search for “run” or “control panel”. My grandma is happy the way things are in XP. She uses it as a tool to communicate via email. And if things change too much she’ll just quit using it and use the telephone which is also a tool that basic interface/usage hasn’t changed in 50 years. And that age group does account for a large amount of users that will follow suit

You’ve tried going Google free, why not try going Mac-only for a period of time? Games are the biggest reason why most people say they “couldn’t” use a Macintosh, but if you’ve got your Xbox 360 that shouldn’t be a big problem. You seem very much the type that is well suited to using a Mac.

Yay for Classic mode! And minimal browsers without loads of toolbars. And white on black desktops. And turning off most of the UI “effects”.

Kind of ironic that I’m most comfortable with Windows when it’s setup to look like Win 95. It’s a personal opinion but every single piece of eye candy and help for dumb users since then is a mistake that gets in the way. What’s scary is when you have to use somebody else’s PC with every XP setting on default, and with IE and Outlook “enhanced” with 5 toolbars each. Ugh! My mind recoils in horror.

I agree with Nick – Apple looks better all the time. I expect that my next PC purchase will be a Mac. The bummer is also a re-purchase of the apps I need, but Windows and Microsoft disappoint more and more, instead of improving as they go. Sigh…

I made the switch to a Mac a month ago and I couldn’t be happier. Microsoft has gone too far and annoyed far too many users to not start losing people en masse. Nick has a great point. Try using a MacBook for a month and see if you can bring yourself to let it go. I’m Microsoft free and loving it.

“but if youâ€™ve got your Xbox 360 that shouldnâ€™t be a big problem.”
I disagree… many people, myself included, love gaming on a PC, and there are some games that just aren’t as fun on a console. I’ve been saying for ages that if another OS had the number and quality of games that Windows has, Windows would lose market share. Especially if that OS was free, and easy to use… like most Linux/Unix (Mac OSX Included) OSes are.

I’d hold my breath for an amazing looking Windows, but I don’t think I’d last long…

NICK,
Ã¢â¬ÅGames are the biggest reason why most people say they Ã¢â¬ÅcouldnÃ¢â¬â¢tÃ¢â¬Â? use a Macintosh, but if youÃ¢â¬â¢ve got your Xbox 360 that shouldnÃ¢â¬â¢t be a big problem.Ã¢â¬Â?

Your point wasnÃ¢â¬â¢t that strong for describing how people donÃ¢â¬â¢t switch from Windows platform into Mac.

I would say that games (or entertaining) should not be a major reason for people not to switching from Windows platform to Mac platform.

Console machine reserved the major benefits of Ã¢â¬â constant performance.
People can just simply buy and play the console game without further considers its hardware requirement as what PC gamer need to.

There is no way for you to direct compare gaming/entertaining between computers (from any platform) and console machine as both of them has its own Pros and Cons.

Xbox360 is undoubtedly an awesome entertaining machine; but if you did experienced a truly ultimate gaming pc, you will easily realized that visual effects produced between both of them are almost equivalent, where PC is potentially better than Xbox 360.

Lastly, we are getting closed to Windows Vista; I do expect to see that there will be no more Windows 3.x/95’s era icons exist on Vista. E.g: Since Windows 95, The *undead* “Torchlight” still exist on Windows XP. 😉

Vista kicks XP’s UI in the butt massively. It may not be totally right yet but lipstick on a pig is total BS (Chris, they are not going to hire you to fix it.. give up) . And wait until they really start taking advantage of the new desktop composition plumbing that hasn’t even been taken for a walk yet.

WTF do any of you know about OS development? Nothing is right. None of you have been employed to develop one at any Linux shop or MS or MAC for that matter so fuck off with what any of you think you know. RETARDS. The fact that it has anything that looks like an older OS is because grandma’s and people like you keep trying to run new OSes on old shit PC’s if MS took MAC’s directive in the 90’s youd all still be running Win95 and happily eating shit.

Go get a machine that can handle the “new” graphics and then say they are a pain. Go buy a new MAC (umm its a PC and runs windows) or go get Tiger (MAC OSX 10.4.6 for you smartasses) and run it on a PC and see some true comparisons. Fucking Sun and MAC may invent but its a damn good thing no one reproduced the Model-T right or all you rice burning fags wouldnt have anything to drive.

If you going to speak on innovation youd better come with something more then “I wish..” or “I hate/like..” and back it with some facts!

I think many people just dont have anything except bitch about MS, Mr. Chris being one of them. Its better if they stop doing so. Vista has looked promising so far, it is GOOD looking, not frankenstined, the translucent windows and sleek look is fab. and i m a consumer, not some developer sitting in a cubicle.and only consumers will decide whether vista works.and it will.

Its obvious that you people that are complaining about Vista’s graphics because your hardware isn’t good enough to handle it. Windows Vista will not work well at all without the right hardware. Plus its not finished yet so stop complaining until its finished and you have upgraded your hardware. And personally i think Microsoft should change more on vista.

Contrary to the opinions of the “uber elitist” group, no the rest of us don’t have to actually back up complaints about the Vista UI with hard data or anything else. Why? Because we’re consumers. Because we will vote with out wallets. Because if upgrading the operating system means having to upgrade the entire machine as well, then it is indeed an ideal time to reevaluate whether WIndows really does meet our needs now, or if a Mac (which conveniently will run our old copy of WinXP so we don’t have to ditch our old stuff while we’re in the process of changing platforms) is a better choice for our current requirements. The barriers that used to be there really don’t apply to the same degree now. And I have to say, even as a certified tech, I’m starting to lean toward a Mac just because frankly Aero looks really ugly and nonfunctional to me.

Dont know what to say! just cursing windows vista for no reason. and the reason given is just one dialog in whole operating system is of 3.1 duh…

dude, world is changing..from the classic old black telephone box we have moved to cellphones, satelite phones with loads of functionality. as the functionality grows, complexity also grow a little. but how would you understand ..u still want to live as a caveman!

MS spends hell amount of money and user research and ask all sorts of users (including type of user yr granny is ) to make sure that they are comfortable using PC.

I have been using Vista since the very first beta version (May 2005). I was so disappointed with it back then and decided to wait a few months before trying it again. Since using RC1 and RC2 the last few months, I think it’s great. I love the multimedia experience. There are a lot of ideas as far as UI which are copied straight from the Mac and there are a few annoyances (mostly related to default security settings), but they are there for the user’s protection. I am an application developer, and I can tell you there is a lot more under the hood of the pretty “lipstick on a pig” interface. There are and will always be defects in Microsoft software as well as software from any other company. I think that Microsoft does tend to rely on a tool called “Windows Update” a little too much instead of getting the software built right on the first realease.

Well what do you want…? the XP theme was lipstick on a (less fat) pig… I use Windows Classic with XP… why anyone would use the other interfaces is beyond me… they’re cluttered.

I’ve used Vista Beta and Vista RCs… neither of them have it right. We’ll also say, I’ve run them 32bit and 64bit. Window management is not easier- it just looks nicer… alt-tab performs approximately the same function- and the amount of graphics hardware it requires is ludicrous… 128mb… for nothing.

Im just going to say it:
Vista does nothing better than XP, period. If you say something like “it’s more secure” Im going to kick you in the balls because the program hasn’t even shipped and they’ve released 2 “critical security patches” already.

Beta 2 was practically unusable for anybody with an nvidia gfx card (single 6800GT), something which let’s be fair is ridiculous even for a beta. RC1 sorted that issue out and showed what Vista’s UI was capable of, not much apart from cycling through windows. A feature that was completly unusable on my laptop gfx card (intel 855GME I believe) which I accepted. That is until I used the new Fedora Core 6 on that same laptop, it featues AIGLX which provides far more stunnning effects and ran completly smoothly on my laptop. To me that just proves that Microsoft are making Aero purposefully hardware intensive when it clearly does not have to be.
The feature I was most impressed with on Vista btw was once you are connected to a network it asks you whether it is private or public and configures the firewall accordingly, useful but by no means unique.

Hmm, How do I start. Comparing Mac to Vista, hmmm. “Mac had that look look 3 years ago.” Does that mean you fell for the “eye candy” before others ? As gamers tend to like “eye candy”, as in, if you “love” how it looks, then it’s called “awesome graphics”, if you don’t like how it looks, then it’s “eye candy”. Funny how things can be percieved. Do I like Vista, sure, I am enjoying some of it’s functions and, lord forbid “eye candy”. It’s about time I took advantage and enjoyed some pretty over worring about pure speed. Did I like changing from 98 to XP, hell no, It was different, things were in different places, didn’t seem to be as easy to navigate, (oh crap, that must mean it wasn’t “intuitive”.) Once again perception has creeped into the back of my mind. Now, here I am again, clicking away and learning another OS. Is it as “intuitive” as XP, not at first, why ? you ask, cause it IS a DIFFERENT OS than XP. Do I like how it pounded my system ? Of course not, but will I upgrade in the very near future, of course I will. Just like everyone of us has in the past to keep up. Did I like it when say,, Doom3 came out and my system wasn’t up to snuff,,, You see were this is going I am sure. I personally still love Windows 64bit, why cause it is all speed(even though the annoying rundll32 file loads twice at boot-up). Do I like the Vista eye candy, sure do. Will I use the Flip-3D cause it is so “cool”, most likely not, but it sure is fun to play with :). Vista has impressed me in some areas, others, I am disappointed. The Readyboost is cool, I like the idea of it. But without change I would still be in 3.11 cursing everything that has come since then. The security issues I can’t begin to talk about, it comes down to more people use windows, therefore more people will take aim to hack it. Would you steal a Chevette to sell on the black market or would you steal the Corvette ? Perception, it’s a funny thing.

My gripe with Microsoft, and the same issue is going to persist in Vista (when I collared some Microsoft staff at an Exhibition in London last September they didn’t even understand my question, which spoke volumes), is this:

A User-oriented operating system, which is what Desktop OSs are, should always, without exception, be responsive to users, whatever else they may be trying to do under the covers. There should be user threads of execution which just sit there waiting for user input of any kind, and translating that into a response on the screen – put simply, if I click on a button, I want to see that actioned. Immediately. More specifically, if I want to terminate an operation, I want instant feedback that my request has been received (even if it takes a while to actually terminate the operation behind the scenes).

For too many years, one app, or one thread in one app, has been capable of breaking this ideal, of blocking the system, or the input, or the screen, while the user sits and waits… and waits… to see if the machine even knows they exist. This should have been sorted years ago, but it hasn’t, and I know it won’t be.

You’re not alone with your many, many issues about User-oriented OSs, and well done for raising these issues, even if it feels as though you’re talking to a brick wall sometimes.

To quote you; “I wish users didn’t have to put up with this level of sloppiness from a multi-billion dollar company.”

The thing is, they don’t! You know darned well what I’m going to say next and I’m sure even the most ardent MS user will have thought it whilst trying to rid the latest batch of pathetic viruses from an already slow machine.

Apple.

I moved across from a lifetime of using MS.

It trashes every MS machine I’ve EVER used (I’m a company manager, a photographer and a musician so I’ve used a few), NEVER crashes, NEVER freezes, tears through every task like it’s a walk in the park and looks superb with excellent and consistent GUI and flexibility to boot.

Seriously, many will say “Nothing runs on it”, but frankly that’s rubbish. Only bug ridden applications like Access won’t, but then it’s possible to obtain an emulator if one MUST have MS applications.

Oh, by the way, keep up the debugging and the writing. Very humourous (yes, spelling is correct – I’m English), quality grammar and I’m laughing hard.

I just want to say that I have seen this all before. All I want is a fast safe and secure OS to run my programs on. I can get all the eye candy I want from somewhere else. PS don’t try to tell me what I can or cannot do with my computer in my home. You sold it to me now hands off. DMR is a not the way to promote a friendly computer. If you want to control how I use my computer then you pay for it. Because I will not.

“I wish users didn’t have to put up with this level of sloppiness from a multi-billion dollar company. ”
Very simple, we don’t have to. Many are using alternative OS’s already, the last time I installed XP was in a virtual machine as an application (run an OS as a program).
Quite disappointed Microsoft is not at a technology stage of “Live DVD’s” for trial without install. Maybe with 1 more billion dollars and 7 more years they will finally be able to top there best OS to date Windows 95.

why are people making such a big deal?
go back and look in 2000 and 2001 posts of windows xp, everyone said the same thing, and once sp1a came out most had it and now its 2007 and most people have xp now.
as for me i had vista intsalled on my P4 HT at 2.6 Ghz 1gig and it choked, it froze up with music and the interent on, for everyday needs as of now its not so good for me thats why i have XP pro sp2 back on… at least, for others it might be alright to use, the most cost efficient version would be home premium because i bought ultimate and its mostly the same as home premium except a few minor security apps you can use..
dont try to tell me that you are going to switch to mac/linux, cuz most ppl are the average home user so how many will do the research into buying a mac or installing linux its hardly going to happen, it’d be easier to drive to the store to fork out hundreds then to do the research

on my 64bit PC i’ve run ubuntu linux, mandriva linux, xp, and vista
the fact of the matter is I could care less about the bells and whistles in vista BUT my 64 bit processor performs WAAAAAY better on vista then any other OS currently out… sure they’re selling it to the masses using the pointless flash crap.. but can u blame them.. people love shiny things… but vista really does run much much stronger on new hardware then XP

Lipstick on a pig is a fair description. It certainly has been my impression of Vista.

Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not out to complain or whine about it, just to state some facts.

I recently built myself a new system and figured I’d give Vista a shot. First impressions were good. Nice appearance, several features I like etc..

Then things started to go wrong; after boot up things began to stop working. This led finally to a reinstall and shortly afterwards another reinstall and another….. I have lost count now 🙂

Two days ago came my first BSOD shortly followed by many more. At this point I decided it was enough and tried to go back to XP. Which as I found out you can’t do with XP home version. My solution was to fit an old hard drive I had lying around install XP on it then format the drive that had Vista on.

Now I’m happily back with XP. Vista was truly a shocking experience, it has lots of issues and is just not stable enough to gain any trust. If only I could bill MS for the time I spent trying to fix stuff I could probably afford to buy a mac 🙂

Lipstick on a pig.. Hmm. I would go as far to say it’s worse than that; at least you could eat a pig that didn’t work properly 🙂

“Lipstick on a Pig”? Good quote, but not sure thats an accurate description. I started my OEM business back in the 95 days and once the market moved to 98 and then 98SE I was still satisfied overall with the OS. Sure they all had problems in the beginning. Fact is even with the problems that were eventually fixed, we had one Windows OS that did it’s job. As an IT Tech I was able to manipulate the system and essentially was able to overcome any obstacle that created a problem. An average user may not be able to do this but overall 98 and 98SE along with Windows 2000 gave us choices and most problems with a little research could be overcome. Xp was a nightmare in the beginning, but over time with all of the patching it finally resulted into a great OS. Any OS will have it’s occasional problems but most could be worked out in time. XP SP2 finally became a stable OS with few problems. Vista is a joke. It offers way too many choices for the common user and what most people don’t get is that Vista is just a warmed over XP with added features that simply don’t work. Even with a new computer with the highest end specs, Vista simply will not work with most software and hartdware on the market. Sure you can buy all new software and hardware which most people can’t afford and yet you still have problems. I am a member of the MS Partnership Program and I am supposed to be promoting their new products. On the other hand I have customers who rely on my advise and trust my decisions and suggestions. I do not sell or promote Vista. There are way too many choices and I feel MS is deliberately mis leading the public with them. Number one all of the advertised features of Vista promoting it as the new wave of technology is a load of crap. Only the Ultimate edition which you won’t find any any retail store offers all of the new features. Anything less than Ultimate is a faulty system with a different look than XP. Sure the new look is appealing, but if none of your software or hardware will work with it, what is the point? Even with Ultimate, if you can afford a new system that supports it as well as buying new hardware such as printers, scanners, etc. as well as the newest software that supports it, you still have continuous problems getting anything to run as it should. XP SP2 has finally become about as stable an OS as can be expected. MS should have taken that OS and added all the new features it falsely advertises about Vista and incorporated them into a newer version of XP and they may have created a decent system. To make it worse MS has changed the support cycle of XP in order to force people into Vista knowing full well that Vista is a dud. What the public don’t know is that MS is already working on the next OS to be released in 2010 which is based on XP SP2 or the upcoming SP3. It’s called Windows 7 right now. By 2012 Vista will no longer be supported and they will again force people on to the newer Windows 7 which if truly based on XP and incorporating the good Vista features it may be a truly good OS. Without coming out and admitting it, MS knows Vista is a fluke and are forcing customers into it to try and recover their expense in R&D. They are mis-leading the public with their lies and unfair business practices and hoping to get by with it until they finally are able to create an OS that will truly offer a new age of computing. I am honest with my customers and will not recommend Vista to no one. This may end up shutting my doors as MS has already announced they are pulling XP from OEM vendors by the first of 08 so we have no choice but to mislead consumers into Vista until they can come up with something better. I will turn to Linux and Mac at that time until MS is able to truly offer a good OS that actually works. I could go on and on about the unfair practices of MS as well as the under the table deals they have with the larger manufacturers such as Dell, HP, Compaq, etc. who have no choice but to follow their lead or destroy their business by not doing so. Although I was on MS’s side during their earlier trial of monopolizing the industry, I now fully support that fact and know they are truly a deceptive company that will take advantage of everyone they can and could care less for the people that has supported them for so long. If they were to be charged again for unfair practices and trying to monopolize the industry I would definately be on the opposing side now. I am a fair, honest business man and do my best to make my customers happy, sometimes at my expense, and do not want to deal with any company that doesn’t do the same. You may or may not agree, but don’t judge until you have the facts. The public is totally unaware of the truth behind MS and if they knew, it would ultimately bring them down if the truth was known. They have plenty of money and just like our declining government they can not be trusted yet nothing will change until the truth is out and people realize it.

I have watched Windows grow, I remember the days of DOS which from what I understand has a history of not crashing. Windows 3.1 came out and it was a cool add-on. Over time, I’ve watched Windows grow into a pitiful excuse for an operating system. Vista is just the latest in Microsoft’s attempt to dominate the market. Many may not agree with me which is fine, but I actually am holding my breath for Linux. The only problem with Linux is that most Windows and Mac programs do not run on it, but it’s being addressed. I’ve seen Linux grow from the little command line driven OS (similar to DOS) to what it is today and it’s only getting BETTER!!! Now here’s where I say the down to it… Linux does have a long way to go and is not ready for the mainstream public. In my mind, Microsoft needs to learn to follow this example and strive to BETTER their operating systems and not go through and mess them up more and more. I myself am using Windows XP right now (this PC came with Vista, but I hated the problems I was having). I myself will hold my breath for Linux as I see potential in it (our own government is behind the development of Linux, you tell me…). Unless Microsoft gets their head screwed on straight, I will become a former Microsoft fan very quickly as I’m broken-hearted at this latest release of Windows and hope Microsoft realizes how many ppl they’ve disappointed… I’ll keep my fingers crossed for Windows but not too much longer.

I just wanted to make another comment and ask a question that maybe someone who sees this can answer, someone who really has an idea :). Vista is a big ol’ dud right? So my question first of all is… Does it have potential? Is it thought that with the introduction of Service Packs and whatnot that possibly Vista may become as great as XP or is it just crap from now to the end of it’s life cycle? What else I wanted to say to y’all is that I e-mailed a Microsoft representative and he assured me that they had a team working to “whip Vista into shape.” He stated that there are more devices compatible with Vista know than it’s release, something like 3x more and that goes for applications too. Unfortunately, when I told him of some issues I had with Vista he had no clue as to why they were happening and told me to “Update Windows and your drivers Kerr-Mae as this is usually the cause of bluescreens.” I’m sorry to say it but bull-pucky that is why. I took PC Repair myself and keep my PC’s updated as far as Operating System and drivers as well as maintenance wise. I STILL got bluescreens and whacky stuff happening to my brand new 1500$ laptop. I was upset with this answer and do not trust Microsoft anymore. As I stated above, This laptop CAME with Vista and I found within a week of owning this wonderful machine that Vista was a dud. I go back to my whole thing about Linux, it’s got potential and they are working on porting Windows programs it and game devlopers are even beginning to consider making versions of their games for Linux. I forsee Linux winning in the long run my friends and we all are gonna win with Linux… even those who say “I can’t switch because “Insert program or hardware here” won’t run with Linux.” 😀

One can’t stop asking what is the Vista OS doing instead of working
on my application. It is so slow that the only conclusion I have is that it is doing something else that has nothing to do with what I am doing.
The network setup is beyond idiotic.
But the button calling for my permission to change something
beats them all. The screen goes black first then the image is regenereated. Try to do some developmental work dealing with one button all the time. Are people at Microsoft brain dead???
I was runing a simple loop. To see text displayed on the screen
i had to slow down linux by 200 ms on every pass to achieve roughly the same flow of text. I was forced to move to linux ’cause the Vista was so slow that it could not deal with VOIP applications.
Linux has its problems too but it seems that Microsoft left no choice
for developers. Vista is so busy with itself that has no time to process
the user’s application.
Microsoft has officialy joined the rest of US industry of lousy and expensive products.

I do agree with what you say Martin about Linux does have problems. I NEVER said it was perfect but who can dispute the fact that it has made huge jumps since its introduction and yes, our own federal gov’t is behind it. All operating systems are going to have problems but what I’m talking about here is quality. Linux is a MUCH more stable, efficient, and secure operating system and yes it does have flaws. They all do. I foolishly tried to go back to Vista with a clean boot with all the trial programs and all the crap that came on this computer gone and not being installed. It was a clean install with just Vista and nothing else and I put my programs in afterward. It still ran for about a week until it crashed, again. XP is better than Vista but ultimately, I think I CAN safely bring Linux into this because overall I’ve seen how stable it is and how fast it is. It does not eat system resources and no, you do not have to buy new hardware. There is 1 thing I will say and I may have said it before, it is NOT ready for the mainstream public yet. I’ve found that it is easier than Windows once you learn it but in my opinion, it’s not for the person who’s “afraid to turn on their computer” if you get my meaning behind that. Right now I think Linux is the only thing that we cannot call lousy and expensive. If you really take the time to sit down with it and really learn it’s ins and outs, it actually brings the fun back into owning a PC. I’d actually like some input in here from Chris Pirillo on this… What are YOUR views on Linux. I like what you have to say and read a lot of these articles you write. All I’m stating is 1 thing, my opinion and I honestly in my heart believe Linux has major potential and right now it is far from what the “industry” puts out there.

You know, I’ve got to get this out there… I just installed Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista. What a JOKE!!! Darn thing made my PC SLOWER!!! Microsoft has messed up yet again. Shows what crap they will release from now on and they just don’t care. My programs start slower, the PC wants to freeze more, and there’s NO performance boosts whatsoever. Do NOT believe Microsoft’s lies and switch to something else.

Chris is only human and is entitled to his opinions, however skewed they may be. Once again he makes blanket statements without supporting them. Explain a 10x worse user experience. The new start menu and how it’s more intuitive perhaps? Integrated search to make locating apps easier? Live thumbnail icons? The Aero interface (which looks great IMO). Please explain… (Of course he won’t). Come on… classic mode? As for the little fonts dialog box goes, it is a well know insider joke. Come on who uses it anyway, I have always dragged and dropped fonts – which is the easiest way to do it. This amounts to nit picking, nothing more, and nothing less. I really don’t know what he’s talking about when he uses the word “Frankensteined” (which he misspelled BTW). And what is a Vista app anyway? Notepad? Why would you use XP guidelines for Vista?

It’s funny, I used to watch TechTv back in the day, and Windows was how Chris made his living. Aside from a couple of driver and application compatibility issues, I don’t get his constant griping about Vista.

As for Sgt. Firestorm, Everyone I’ve talked to has had nothing but success and a positive experience after installing SP 1. Uninstall it if it doesn’t work… what’s the big deal? Also keep holding your breath, because Linux will never be Mainstream. Outside of the Tech community, know one has ever heard of Linux.

For Chris Elrod, The Ultimate edition is available all over; I bought mine at MicroCenter when it was first released. Most of your comment is a big rant against MS, and you say nothing about the OS except it’s a dud and you give nothing to back it up besides stating hardware and software which is very vague. IMO, You are truly mistaken in your opinions and that may just be the reason you go out of business.

For Manalishi, It’s funny that no one I know had had your problems. A BSOD doesn’t just happen out of the blue… there is a reason for it – and many more means nothing. What are the “things” that stopped working? I just love it when people make statements and don’t back them up with the slightest detail. I have had Vista running on three different systems with no issues. And you just had to mention a Mac, which pretty much invalidates your entire rant.

Persoanally JDX, these are my opinions and I have met many people who have had nothing but problems after SP1 was installed. Performance increases are minimal and all it does is add new features. As for Linux, your partially right… Microsoft is becoming the past of computing and GNU/Linux could possibly be the future. It’s not mainstream… yet because it’s not ready for the general public. Linux is simply a kernel by the way and it will be replaced by the “Hurd” eventually. All I myself have done is state my opinions. I’m very skilled with PCs and do see what your saying but also, saying Linux will never be mainstream is a bit extreme. I am not saying I’m right nor am I saying that what I’m saying is fact, it’s MY personal opinion. I don’t like Vista as it’s been a nuisance since I’ve gotten it and that is after the installation of SP1 as well. Linux is my preference and I’m holding my breathe for that now. Maybe Vista will get better, if so, I’ll be back. I’m running it now but am trying to stay on top of the issues. But you watch my friend, eventually Microsoft will no longer be on top. Things are happening now that are challenging Microsoft on their high horse :).

Well, I myself do see where Chris is coming from but look at things this way… No operating system is perfect be it Windows, Mac OS or Linux. Everyone here has good points but the bottom line is no matter what you do, each system has pros and cons. Vista though, I can say that after the release of the newest Service Pack, Service Pack 2… it has DRAMATICALLY improved. Think back to Windows XP when it was first released, it too was a disaster and the only reason it is as good as it is now is because its 8 years old and Microsoft has had that much time to improve it to its current state. So to everyone here… Vista is Vista, Windows is Windows, Linux is Linux and Mac OS is Mac OS. Use what you prefer as each has its pros and cons… and KerriMae, good points about Linux , I think some of what you say is right on…